Applicator package



Jan. 24, 1967 APPLICATOR PACKAGE Filed Jan. s, 1964 R. J. O'BRIEN ETALJ7@ ver@ 507 /ZI/zerld/ 612255, l:

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United States 'Patent 3,299,464 APPLICATOR PACKAGE Robert J. OBrien,Evanston, and Elmer W. Griese, Jr.,

Chicago, Ill., assignors to Ekco Containers, Inc., a cor- .I poration ofIllinois Filed Jan. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 335,489

9 Claims. (Cl. 15--506) This invention relates to applicator packages ofthe kind wherein a dauber housed within the package and carried by theclosure may be used to spread or apply a owable liquid or cream-likesubstance that is contained in the package.

Applicator packages of the aforesaid characterhave found their principaluse in connection with liquid or semiliquid shoe polishes, and withcleaning liquids where the dauber functioned as a rubbing means as wellas an applicator, andas heretofore used such applicator packages havebeen so constructed as to require a relatively large container or bottlecontaining a relatively great quantity of material, and these packageshave therefore constituted multiple use packages.

In view of the foregoing it is the primary object of the invention toVenable single use, disposable applicator packages to be produced, andan `object related to the foregoing is to enable such applicatorpackages to be produced rapidly and economically. Further and morespecific objects of the present invention are to provide a novelcover-dauber assembly thatis simple in its design and construction andwhich is grasped and'used as a dauber in a new and convenient manner, toprovide such a coverdauber assembly in which the cover is impervious incharacter and is adapted to be heat sealed to a container to`hermetically seal the dauber and the liquid or similar material withinthe container, and to provide such a coverdauber assembly whereinoppositely projecting wings or tabs on the cover may be grasped inunison between the fingers and thumb of the user with the dauber exposedand in position such that the material contained in the dauber may beapplied in an efficient and convenient manner.`

Other and further objects of the present invention will beapparent fromthe following description and claims, andare illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show apreferredembodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof, and whatis now considered to be the best mode in which to apply theseprinciples. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same orequivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made asdesired by those skilled in the art without departing from theinvention.

In the drawings:`

' i FIG. 1 is a. full size bottom perspective of a single use applicatorpackage embodying the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section view of the packageimmediately after it has been s-ealed;

yFIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 and showing the condition within thepackage after the owable material has been absorbed by the dauber;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view, from the line 4--4 of FIG. 2, showingthe-cover-dauber assembly of the package;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional View showing the coverdauber assembly andthe container in a separated relation; FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentalportion of FIG. 2; and i FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating themanner in which the cover-dauber assembly is grasped and used.

' For purposesv of disclosure the invention is herein illustrated asembodied lin a relatively small single `use applicator package that isformed from a shallow top-hanged container 21 having a flexibleimpervious cover 22 hermeti- ICC cally sealed across the flanged top ofthe container 21 and yhaving an absorbent dauber 2? xed to the cover 22within the container 21 where it may absorb the package contents such asa quick drying liquid shoe polish 24. When the cover 22 is separated orpulled from the container 21, oppositely extended tabs or wings W formedon and as parts of cover 22 serve as a holding or handle means wherebythe dauber 23 may be supported and manipulated, as an applicator for theliquid material carried in the -dauber 23.

The container 2l as herein shown is circular in plan form and as shownin FIG. 6, is formed from aluminum foil to provide a bottom wall 21B, asmooth sloping side wall 21S, and a smooth surfaced outward ange 21F atthe upper edge of the side wall 21S. Preferably the outer edge of theflange 21F has means such as a protective roll 21R formed thereon.

The cover 22 is made from `a paper-aluminum foil laminate which, asshown in FIG. 6, comprises an upper paper sheet 26 laminated to a loweraluminum foil sheet 27, and preferably the lower face of the aluminumfoil sheet 27 has an -overall coating 28 of a protective adhesive thatmay be activated by heat and pressure. The adhesive 28 may thus beactivated 4locally in areas opposite the ange 21F to hermetically sealthe cover 22 to the flange 21F and thus provide a hermetically sealedpackage. The

adhesive 28 is also utilized in the present instance to X the dauber 23in position on the lower or inner face of the cover 22.

The dauber 23 is made from a foamed resilient plastic material of theyopen-cell absorbent type, and preferably the cells of the foam arerelatively tine or small so that liquid is discharged uniformly and tothe best advantage when the dauber 23 is used in the general mannershown in FIG. 7.

The foam material of the dauber 23 is preferably cellulose, and underthis invention the foam; material is obtained in a compressed and`relatively thin dry sheet s0 as to facilitate high speed automaticfilling and sealing of t-he packages 20, as will be described. Thecompressed sheet of foam material has a dry thickness that is but asmall fraction of its wet or normal thickness, and preferably a sheet isselected that has a normal or wet thickness approximating or slightlyexceeding the depth of the container 21. The compressed, dried foammaterial is die cut, preferably into square pieces, as shown in FIG. 4,and these pieces are adhesively secured centrally on the lower face ofthe cover 22. While separately applied adhesive might be used, it isconsidered preferable to accomplish the mounting of the dauber 23 :byapplying heat and pressure which activates the adhesive coating 28. TheIcover 22 and the dauber 23 thus provide a sub-assembly which' may beheat sealed to the container 21 after the desired amount of liquid orowable material 24 has been loaded therein, and under the presentinvention, the cover 22 and the dauber 23 are so formed and related toeach other that when the -cover 22 is peeled from the container 21, theoppositely projecting tabs or wings W of the cover 22 may lbe graspedand 4held in the manner shown in FIG. 7 to thereby dispose the dauber 23in position for effective and convenient use.

In the production of packages 20 high speed conveying and llingmechanisms of conventional design may be employed, and the flowable orliquid material 24 is introduced into successive containers in ameasured amount that is suicient for the single use or operation to beperformed. Preferably the measured ll is such that it may be absorbedcompletely by the dauber 23. The size and depth of the container 21 isrelated to this measured till in such a way that when the cover 22 isput in place,

as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the dry compressed dauber 23 will be spacedfrom the upper surface of the fill material 24. Thus, the cover-dauberunit may be put in place rapidly and by automatic means without dangerof splashing or displacing the ll material 24 onto the anges 21F or thesealant layer 28. Contamination of the seal area is thus avoided, andthe cover 22 may be sealed reliably to the ilange 21F by application ofheat and pressure in a knwon manner and by conventional means.

When the hermetic sealing operation Ihas been cornpleted, the dauber 23remains in its dry `compressed form as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 untilfurther handling in packing or shipping brings the liquid material 24into contact with the dauber 23. When this occurs, the liquid isabsorbed by the foam material which at this time expands in thicknessand assumes its normal wet thickness as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7. All orsubstantially all of the fill material is absorbed by the dauber 23, andalthough slight traces of the fill material may remain outside thedauber 23, as indicated at 24T in FIG. 3, these traces are negligible inpractice and will not ordinarily run or spill from the container 21after the package 20 has been opened.

When contents of the package 2i) are to be used, the package 2t) rnustbe opened by peeling the -cover 22 from the container 21, an-d tofacilitate this opening Operation as well as the subsequent handling anduse of the cover-dauber assembly, the cover 22, the container 21 and thedauber 23 are related to each other in a particular manner. Thus it willybe observed in FIGS. 1 and 4 that the cover 22 is basically of diamondshape with the corners of the diamond rounded, the two corners at theends of the minor axis of the cover 22 :being rounded at 122 so as toconstitute portions of a circle 122C centered at the intersection ofmajor and minor axes and having a diameter equal substantially to theouter diameter of the ange 2llF. As will be evident in FIG. 4, thesquare dauber 23 is disposed on the cover 22 with opposite sides 23S ofthe `dauber 23 parellel to the minor axis of the cover, and this servesto increase the effective length of the Wings W. Thus in FIG. 4 theWings W are indicated as extending to the sides 23S of the dauber 23.

When the cover 22 is in place on the container 2l, the rounded corners122 of the cover 22 fall directly over portions of the edge of the ange21F, and the user may thus grip and 'hold the container by engagingopposite edges of the flange at opposite ends of the minor axis of thecover. While holding the `container in this manner in one hand, the usermay peel back the wings W in succession, leaving portions of the cover22 in the regions of the corners 122 still attached to the container 21.

The user may then engage and hold the two wings W in the relation shownin FIG. 7, and `by then grasping and pulling on one or both of thereleased portions of the flange 211:, the opening operation may becompleted. Hence, at the end of the opening operation the .user has thecover-dauber unit under control and ready for immediate use as shown inFIG. 7. As the dauber 23 is removed from position within the container21 it carries the entire measured quantity of liquid or ow- :ablematerial and the container 21 may therefore be discarded at once, whilethe dauber cover unit may be discarded after the desired use has beenmade thereof.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the presentinvention provides a new and useful single use applicator package, andthat the package thus provided is simple and economical in character andis adaptable for rapid production by known types of automatic equipment.

It will also be evident that the single use applicator package providedby this invention may be handled, opened and used in a simple andconvenient manner.

Thus, while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustratedherein, .it is to -be understood that changes and variation may Vbe madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a hermetically sealed single use applicator package, a shallowmetal-foil container having a side wall and a continuous smooth surfacedoutwardly extending flange about the top of the side wall, a cover madefrom a paper-metal foil laminate extended across said container andhaving the metal foil thereof hermetically sealed to the flange of saidcontainer, said cover having a dauber made from open cell foam materialsecured centrally to said metal foil of the cover within said container,flowable material in said container in an amount that may be absorbedand carried in substantially in its entirety by said dauber, and saidcover having integral wing members extending in opposite directionsbeyond said ange for use in peeling the cover from the container andthereafter for holding and supporting the dauber while using the dauberto apply said owable material to a surface or the like.

2. In a hermetically sealed single use applicator package, a shallowmetal-foil container having a side wall and a continuous smooth surfacedoutwardly extending flange about the top of the side wall, a cover madefrom a papermetal foil laminate extended across said container andhaving an exposed metal foil layer hermetically sealed to the flange ofsaid contaier, said cover having a dauber made from open cell foammaterial secured centrally to said metal foil layer within saidcontainer, flowable material in said container in an amount that may beabsorbed and carried substantially in its entirety by said dauber, andsaid cover having integral wing members extending in opposite directionsbeyond said flange for use in peeling the cover from the container andthereafter for holding and supporting the dauber while using the dauberto apply said material to a surface or the like, said dauber being cutto a square layer with opposite side edges of the dauber arrangedperpendicular to the direction in which said wings project.

3. In a cover-dauber unit adapted to be extended across a top flangemetal foil container and to be sealed vto the flange of such a containerto produce a hermetically sealed single use applicator package, saidunit comprising a papermetal foil laminate adapted to close the top of acontainer and having a pair of integral wing members extending therefromat diametrically opposite points beyond the edge of such a container,and a compressed dry open cell foam member secured to the foil side ofthe laminate centrally thereof.

4. A cover-dauber unit according to claim 3 wherein said foam member ismade for cellulose. l

5. In a cover-dauber assembly adapted to be adhesively secured in placeacross and in hermetically sealed relation to the open top of a shallowtop-flanged container, said cover-dauber assembly comprising apaper-metal foil-laminate adapted to span and close the container, and abody of open cell foam material secured to the foil side of saidlaminate and spaced from the edges thereof.

6. A cover unit according to claim 5 wherein the exposed face of themetal foil has its lower surface cornpletely coated with an adhesiveadapted to be activated to seal the cover unit to opposed ange areas ofa container.

7. In a hermetically sealed applicator package, an open top containerhaving a owable material therein, a cover hermetically sealed to saidcontainer and having a cornpressed dry open cell foam member carried onits inner face in position to absorb such flowable material and functionas an applicator when the cover is removed from the container.

S. In a hermetically sealed applicator package, an open top containerhaving a llowable material therein, `a cover hermetically sealed to saidcontainer and havinga compressed dry absorbent member carried on itsinner face 5 6 in position to absorb such flowable material and functionReferences Cited by the Examiner` as an applicator when the cover isremoved from the con- UNITED STATES PATENTS tainer.

9. In a hermetically sealed applicator package, an open 2007238 7/1935Anderson 15-244 top container having a owable material therein, a re- 5FOREIGN PATENTS movable cover hermetically sealed to said container and780 443 7/1957 Great Britain.

having a compressed, expandable, absorbent member carried on the innerface of said cover, said member being ROBERT W' MICHELL, PrimaryExaminer; of such size relative to said container and made of suchmaterial that it expands and absorbs such owable mate- 10 CHARLES A'WILLMUTH Examiner' rial upon contact therewith and functions as anapplica- P. R. ARVIDSON, Assistant Examiner. tor when the cover isremoved from the container.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3,299,464 January 24 1967 Robert J. U'iBrien et alc.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 4, line 28, for "contaier" read container n; line 52, for "for"read from d 4 Signed and sealed this 24th of October 1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Ir. EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer CCommissioner of Patents

9. IN A HERMETICALLY SEALED APPLICATOR PACKAGE, AN OPEN TOP CONTAINER HAVING A FLOWABLE MATERIAL THEREIN, A REMOVABLE COVER HERMETICALLY SEALED TO SAID CONTAINER AND HAVING A COMPRESSED, EXPANDABLE, ABSORBENT MEMBER CARRIED ON THE INNER FACE OF SAID COVER, SAID MEMBER BEING OF SUCH SIZE RELATIVE TO SAID CONTAINER AND MADE OF SUCH MATERIAL THAT IT EXPANDS AND ABSORBS SUCH FLOWABLE MATERIAL UPON CONTACT THEREWITH AND FUNCTIONS AS AN APPLICATOR WHEN THE COVER IS REMOVED FROM THE CONTAINER. 